Turkish parliament speaker has 53 advisers, CHP lawmaker reveals

Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop has 53 advisers, a recent parliamentary inquiry revealed. The author of the inquiry, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu said that the overstaffing showed jobs were handed out to family and friends in parliament.

Wednesday December 23 2020 11:10 am

Duvar English

Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop has some 53 advisors, a parliamentary inquiry by main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu revealed, the daily BirGün reported on Dec. 23.

Some 32 staff members were transferred to the parliament speaker's office from the prime minister's office in 2018, along with 21 employees who were initially appointed as advisers to the speaker, Deputy Parliament Speaker Süreyya Sadi Bilgiç said in response to the inquiry.

"Advisers are appointed to the parliament speaker's aid to help with matters of importance and precedence," Bilgiç added.

The response to Tanrıkulu's inquiry revealed "great wastefulness" in parliament, as indicated by how large the staff was, the deputy told BirGün.

"What could a parliament speaker need 53 different advisors for? Parliament jobs are just handed out to family and friends, that's the only explanation."

Separately, opposition Good (İYİ) Party deputy Yasin Öztürk presented an inquiry to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to reveal employment that's not merit-based in his ministry, asking why they had removed the requirement for a second language for their employees stationed abroad.